Sr. Instructional Designer (Training & Development)
Salary

With approximately three in five of Senior Instructional Designers in the United States reporting more than 10 years of experience in the field, this area is heavily weighted toward experienced professionals. Pay ranges from $55K to $104K per year and averages out to $72K per year. Total incomes of Senior Instructional Designers incorporate potential for, in a few cases, more than $10K from bonuses and close to $9K from profit sharing; these performance components cause packages to range between $55K and $104K. Geography and experience level each impact pay for this group, with the former having the largest influence. The majority of Senior Instructional Designers (66 percent) who took the survey are women. Job satisfaction for Senior Instructional Designers is high. Medical benefits are awarded to a large number, and a fair number earn dental coverage. The data in this summary comes from the PayScale salary survey.

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

XTotal Pay combines base annual salary or hourly wage, bonuses, profit sharing, tips, commissions, overtime pay and other forms of cash earnings, as applicable for this job. It does not include equity (stock) compensation, cash value of retirement benefits, or the value of other non-cash benefits (e.g. healthcare).

A senior instructional designer for training and development is tasked with designing a learning process to pass on information to a class of students. Senior instructional designers often head a team of instructional designers trying to develop a program that makes teaching more efficient and effective. To adequately build a teaching-program structure, instructional designers must keep the needs of the learner in mind and have a well defined set of goals for the instructional program. To aid in design, senior instructional designers also must have an excellent understanding of pedagogical theories and be able to use those theories to inform the instructional design team's work.

As their first task in the development process, the senior instructional designer will gather information about the intended group of learners. After the data has been gathered, the instructional designer then helps design a program structure based on the overarching needs of the learning population. Next, the design is broken down into pieces, and those pieces will be delegated to individual instructional design specialists. The senior instructional designer monitors the team's progress, and after the design portions are completed, the senior instructional designer integrates the parts together and begins implementing the program. During the implementation phase, the program is evaluated and adjusted as necessary.

Most senior instructional designers have a bachelor's degree in teaching, psychology, or another relevant field. They often work in general office environments and may be required to travel when meeting with clients.

Sr. Instructional Designer (Training & Development) Tasks

Organize and prepare course plans.

Assess and analyze training needs through surveys, interviews with employees, or consultation with managers.

Assist in conducting general and specific training programs to help workers maintain or improve job skills.

Choose and evaluate training materials prepared by instructors, such as outlines, text, and handouts.

Common Career Paths for Sr. Instructional Designer (Training & Development)

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For Senior Instructional Designers, career advancements do not tend to correlate with a rise in salary. On average, lower-level Senior Instructional Designers earn similar salaries to those in higher-end positions like Training & Development Manager. Senior Instructional Designers most frequently advance into Training & Development Project Manager and Training Manager roles even though the median salaries are $12K lower and $13K lower, respectively.

Sr. Instructional Designer (Training & Development) Job Listings

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This chart shows the most popular skills for this job and what effect each skill has on pay.

Senior Instructional Designers seem to require a number of specific skills. Most notably, skills in Technical Writing, Curriculum Planning, Training Program Development, and Course Design are correlated to pay that is above average, with boosts in pay of 6 percent. For most people, competency in Course Design indicates knowledge of Curriculum Planning and Project Management. Those who learned Training Program Development also tend to know Project Management and Curriculum Planning.

Median of all compensation (including tips, bonus, and overtime) by years of experience.

Experience does not seem to be a strong driver of pay increase in this role. Respondents with less than five years' experience take home $64K on average. In contrast, those who have been around for five to 10 years earn a noticeably higher average of $73K. On average, Senior Instructional Designers make $78K following one to two decades on the job. In the end, more experience does seem to mean larger paychecks; seasoned Senior Instructional Designers with more than 20 years of experience earn a predictably higher median salary of $84K.

Pay Difference by Location

Washington is home to an above-average pay rate for Senior Instructional Designers, 22 percent higher than the national average. Senior Instructional Designers will also find cushy salaries in San Francisco (+20 percent), Tampa (+10 percent), Seattle (+10 percent), and San Diego (+9 percent). The lowest-paying market is Orlando, which sits 12 percent below the national average. Not at the bottom but still paying below the median are employers in Austin and Houston (11 percent lower and 6 percent lower, respectively).